Scheherazade
by soft lite
Summary: CJ goes on the date with Ben and they meet Danny and his date. Post-ep for "Full Disclosure."


Author: soft lite Title: Scheherazade Characters: CJ, Danny, Ben, and Sharon.  
Category: Post-ep, romance Pairing: CJ/Ben, CJ/Danny Spoilers: Through Season 5's "Full Disclosure." Rating: G Summary: CJ goes on the date with Ben and they meet Danny and his date.  
Disclaimer: Characters from "The West Wing" are not mine.  
Author's note: One thing happening at the Kennedy Center that Friday night was a Hamburg Ballet performance of "Nijinsky" using music from Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade and Shostakovich's Eleventh Symphony, and reading about it provided the inspiration for this story.  
  
Scheherazade  
  
As they stood clapping after the first act of the ballet, CJ was glad she'd agreed to come with Ben. Yes, getting out of the West Wing in time for an 8 p.m. show had been tricky, and she feared she'd feel her phone vibrating before the evening was over, but it was a gorgeous and very moving story and performance. She felt Ben's hand on her waist and allowed him to guide her out to look for a drink. As they approached the refreshments, however, she saw something unexpected that made her feel as though there was ice-cold water gushing over her: Danny was standing with his arm around a beautiful woman who appeared five to ten years younger and three or four inches shorter.  
  
CJ immediately turned and tried to pull Ben in another direction, "Why oh why do I EVER come here?!"  
  
"What's wrong?" Ben asked, sounding concerned.  
  
Before CJ could answer, she heard a woman's voice right behind her, "CJ Cregg?"  
  
With dread, CJ turned, and saw her apprehension was justified as she was face to face with the woman Danny had had his arm around. Dimly, CJ was aware that the woman was now holding Danny's hand, and that he seemed quite reluctant to come any closer than their arms' length. "Yes."  
  
"I'm sorry to interrupt your evening away from work and introduce myself, but since someone is NOT being at all gentlemanly this evening and refused to introduce us," she shot a glare at Danny who appeared unrepentant.  
  
Now CJ glanced with concern and astonishment at Danny who looked quite uncomfortable. "That doesn't sound at all like Danny," CJ decided to tease him a bit, since she was forced to talk to his date. She put on the most genuine smile she could muster, "I'm very pleased to meet you. And this is Ben."  
  
"Sharon," the woman responded with a wide and much more sincere-looking smile as she shook each of their hands.  
  
"And this," CJ continued with the introductions, "is Danny Concannon, reporter for the Washington Post and White House Senior Correspondent."  
  
As Ben reached out to shake Danny's hand, he apologized to CJ, "I'm so sorry, CJ, I know you wanted to get away from work for the evening."  
  
With more than a little acrimony in her voice, "That's okay, Ben. It's not as though Danny has actually been anywhere near the White House in more months than you've been calling me. In fact, I'm rather amazed that the Post is still calling him their White House reporter," she added with a glare at Danny.  
  
Sharon tried to change the subject, "Ben, what do you do?"  
  
"I work at Interior, and in my free time, I try to get CJ to take my calls."  
  
Although he said this in a light tone, CJ took offense and turned to look at him while placing her hands on her hips, "Are you still married to my college roommate?"  
  
"Well, sort of."  
  
"Sort of?" CJ said with disbelief evident in her voice. "I need a Boolean operator here, Ben. You avoided the subject completely for months, and when I finally did return your call, you didn't clarify."  
  
"Katie's living with an orthodontist in Portland."  
  
"I know that. True or false: you are married to her."  
  
Ben sighed, "True. We've filed for divorce, but the paperwork hasn't gone through yet."  
  
"When did you file for divorce?"  
  
"What does that matter?" Ben asked, sounding defensive.  
  
"I'm the White House Press Secretary and I'm at the Kennedy Center with my college boyfriend who is still married to my college roommate. It matters!"  
  
Ben looked at his feet and as quietly as possible whispered, "Two days ago."  
  
CJ rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "Men! You would think that one of these days I'd learn."  
  
Ben turned his attention swiftly to Danny, "You're not going to write about this, are you?"  
  
"No," Danny replied at the same time that CJ said, "Danny wouldn't do that."  
  
Ben looked skeptically at CJ, "You trust reporters?"  
  
Without thinking, CJ responded, "I trust Danny."  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, CJ saw Sharon wrap her arms around Danny, "Hear that, big brother? I don't think she holds it against you."  
  
As CJ turned to look directly at them, her brain was too busy processing the familial resemblance to mask her procession of emotions: disbelief, shock, astonishment, wonder, delight, and love.  
  
"Well," Ben commented after watching the way the other three now looked at one another, "I guess I moved to DC for nothing." 


End file.
